Courage

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." (This is Jesus talking to His disciples in John 15:15.)

"They feast on the abundance of Your house; You give them drink from Your river of delights." (This is David talking to God in Psalm 36:8.)

In my post on 8/15/11, I mentioned my friend who has been accidentally teaching me about being friends with God just by being herself. (I sense a motif, Powerhouse. :)) I would like to elaborate about that a little more. My friend and I sometimes eat at IHOP, and it isn't unusual for us to sit around and chat for quite a while after we finish eating. And then we have a healthy competition where we basically fight over who gets to pay the bill and who gets to hold the door open on the way out to the parking lot. (Unless I beat her to the punch and offer to pay for the meal before we even order our food. Maniacal laughter!) We don't always agree on everything, but we sharpen each other, challenge each other, and encourage each other to be the chicks that God wants us to be.

As I mentioned in my post on 12/26/10, I'm an introvert. Big-time. I recharge when I'm by myself, and being around people is usually a lot of work for me. So, there's a delicate balance of knowing when I need to pull back and recharge, and knowing when I need to come out of solitude and hang out with people. Solitude is a healthy thing that lets me spend time recharging, think through creative ideas, (blog!) and spend extended time with God. Yet it can be tempting sometimes to isolate myself. Isolation is bad because, well, if I spend TOO much time by myself, I could go stir-crazy. I've noticed that being around people helps me to keep a good perspective. Not everybody has the same personality, interests, or gifts that I do. I think I need different people's perspectives to sharpen and refresh me, and they need my perspective to sharpen and refresh them. A balance to this is choosing your friends and acquaintances wisely so that you don't welcome bad influences into your life, but I think that's another blog topic altogether. Here's another important fact that I've learned about friendship: Friends give you courage.

Hmm. Shortly after I typed that, I got an idea. I think the following might be a good way to test whether or not someone is a good friend or a bad friend. If a person gives you courage (encourages you) and points you to God, this person might be a good friend. If a person kicks you and constantly, mercilessly criticizes you (in a non-constructive way), this person might be a bad friend. It really is important to choose your friends wisely, because I really think I treat people the way that people treat me. If I treat people badly, it might be because I was mistreated. If I treat people well, it's because of God, and it might be because I've spent time with Him and have received love and encouragement from Him.

As I mentioned in a Bible verse above (and as I hinted at in a post on 7/27/11), God has a banqueting table where we can eat whatever we want and need, and He has a river where we can drink as much as we want and need. I attended a class at church where I was given very good advice: I need replenishing relationships. A replenishing relationship is a person who you look forward to spending time with, they refresh you while you're spending time with them, and you leave the hangout time refreshed. Even though I'm a big-time introvert who recharges when she's by herself, I need replenishing relationships. My abovementioned friend is one. God is another One.

He's the most important One, actually. God is my Best Friend, and He's the One who gives me courage. Like I mentioned in a Bible verse above, Jesus doesn't call me a servant who is given an assignment, and He isn't a hands-off manager who just leaves and expects me to finish the assignment perfectly without His help. He calls me His friend. I don't have to guess what He's doing; He can tell me directly, and I want to listen to Him. He sent me a Helper (the Holy Spirit), and He walks alongside me and gives me courage to do the things that He wants me to do. He cheers me on. He's walked in my shoes, and He was tempted in the same way that I've been tempted, so I can ask Him unabashedly for mercy and grace (Hebrews 4:15-16). That blows me away. Jesus was tempted in EVERY WAY that I've been tempted?? I've been tempted with some extremely disgusting, terrible things. Yet He wants to HELP me resist temptation and live an abundant life (John 10:10)?? And, as if that weren't awesome enough, I'm already MORE than a conqueror through Him (Romans 8:37)?? HE is my Best Friend.

Metaphorically speaking, Jesus is the Friend who will always go with me to IHOP and let me order whatever I want, and He'll pay the bill. Heck, He's the OWNER of IHOP, and I can eat as much as I want and not get fat, and I can drink as much as I want and not get drunk. We can stay at our table as long as we want, and the waiters won't shoo us away. I can talk to Him and tell Him whatever I want. He can talk to me and tell me whatever He wants, and I want to listen to Him, enraptured, my metaphorical mouth hungry to feast on whatever He wants to speak. After I eat and am satisfied, He can hold the door open for me, walk with me, and sing with me on the way home. Another cool thing about Jesus is that He'll never leave me.

Hmm. This post wouldn't be complete without me mentioning one of my cats. I'm currently typing this with one of my arms under her purring belly. Yeah, that's right. She knows she can come to me unabashedly and get as much affection as she wants, because she's mine. I hope it encourages her to know that.